More of the A's draft picks

By Jason Wojciechowski on June 12, 2014 at 7:14 PM

Fresh off an embarrassing error in my last post, here are more (the rest? We'll see!) of the A's draft picks, following up on this.

No. 11: Joel Seddon, junior RHP from South Carolina. No, not USC. South Carolina. They're different. Seddon's yet another small righty, 6'1" and listed under 170 pounds, but he was the team's closer this year, and he struck out 59 in 48 2/3 innings. Turns 22 shortly.

No. 12: Tyler Willman, junior RHP from Western Illinois. That's in Macomb. It's not near anything. It looks like the closest city, if you don't count Davenport, Iowa, is St. Louis, 163 miles away. Willman is tall but maybe a bit of a bean, at 6'6" and 190. Aaron Fitt did a blog about him in the spring. His college coach did a nice job pumping him up, throwing a "wouldn't be surprised if he threw 100 in a few years" on him, which is hilarious. Willman didn't pitch well his first two years in college, but he had a nice (if not quite astounding) junior year. I wonder whether he'll sign or try to raise his stock next year. Turns 22 after the season.

No. 13: Robert Kuhn, junior second baseman from Kentucky. Not the banker. Not the pharmacy professor at Kentucky. Gosh this is hard. Oh apparently he goes by Max. Max Kuhn is much better. Did a 931 OPS this year, largely on a fantastic walk rate. Turns 22 late in the season.

No. 14: Casey Schroeder, junior college catcher. No idea what Polk State College's competition level is, but he hit .321/.445/.489. He actually transferred from Kentucky to Polk State. If Schroeder gets 1,000 plate appearances in the big leagues, this will not only be a surprise as a 14th-rounder but it will make him Polk State's most famous graduate. Unless Lawrence Scarpa, the architect, is actually really famous and I just have no idea. Turns 21 shortly.

No. 15: Trent Gilbert, junior second baseman from Arizona. This is seriously the worst run of names in A's draft history. Gilbert bats lefty and was on the honor roll for four years in high school. The best Wildcats in history are Trevor Hoffman and Kenny Lofton, who were drafted two years apart, but it's been over 20 years since them. The current best Wildcat is probably ... Mark Melancon? I guess Mark Melancon. Gilbert batted .324/.373/.493 despite just two homers. Turns 22 before next year.

No. 16: Jose Brizuela, junior third baseman from Florida State. Another lefty swinger. Shares a birthday with my brother. Batted .321/.406/.445 and stole 14 bases in 16 tries. Went to Catholic school. Turns 22 at the end of the season.

No. 17: Eric Cheray, junior catcher from Missouri State. Another another lefty. He's from Kansas. Batted .290/.403/.400, which is a pretty neat line for a college player good enough to get drafted. His teammate was drafted by the Cardinals and is also from Topeka. Weird. Cheray, if he signs, finishes his career third in total walks at his alma mater, so that seems like a pretty Oakland pick. Turns 23 after the season.

No. 18: Michael Nolan, senior LHP from Oklahoma City University. Stands 6'7", so the A's are finding size late in the draft. He's from Yonkers and appears to have transferred to OKCU from Grayson College in Texas. "My hidden talent: Heating and air technician," so that's, like, super sad kinda. Twelve starts, 76 innings, 84 strikeouts, 18 walks. That's good. Recently turned 22.

No. 19: Tom Gavitt, senior catcher from Bryant University in Rhode Island. Their mascot is the Bulldogs. It is 13 miles from Brown and probably sick of being mixed up with it. The school has 39,000 alumni but their notable alumni page looks like this. Don't underestimate DJ Theo. Gavitt hit .320/.373/.586. The team as a whole OPS'd 827 but allowed just a 591 OPS to its opponents. That's pretty dominating. Turns 22 in a couple of months.

No. 20: Koby Gauna, junior RHP from Fullerton. "It's a Gauna" shouts Michael Kay when he hits a homer in Yankee Stadium in 2026. Fullerton's website lists him at 6'2", 210, but his photo makes him look a lot beefier than that. He's from Bellflower, which is in my neck of the woods. He models his game after Jered Weaver, though, so he can GTFO. Turns 21 after the season.

No. 21: Tim Proudfoot, junior shortstop from Texas Tech. Didn't hit at all his first two years, bumped it up to .317/.379/.366 this year, so hopefully he's a glove wizard. Five career homers but apparently two of them were grand slams, which is pretty impressive. Played his summer ball in Alaska. All the pictures I see are him making crazy plays. Turns 22 before next season.

No. 22: Brendan McCurry, senior RHP from Oklahoma State. Stands 5'10" so the A's are making a real thing of this. Another closer. Notched 54 strikeouts to just eight walks in 47 1/3 innings. Two runs allowed. You did not misread that. Two runs. That's really not very many at all. Turns 23 before next season.

No. 23: Collin Ferguson, junior first baseman from St. Mary's (the California one). I had a bunch of friends who at least thought about going to St. Mary's, but I don't know how many of them actually went. There's a one-l Colin Ferguson who's an actor, don't get it twisted. Batted .256/.343/.367. Again, he's a first baseman. The hitting environment must be brutal or something. The team OPS 674 and allowed 754, so I dunno, I guess he just didn't hit that well. Was the second-best hitter on his team. Turns 22 before next season.

No. 24: Dawson Brown, junior RHP from West Florida. The mascot is the Argonauts. Notable alumni include Moochie Norris, the 2007 Miss Bolivia, and seriously like 10 astronauts. I'm not kidding. There's a serious astronaut program going on at West Florida. Dawson Brown is also a law firm. The ballplayer is another tall one, 6'6", who transferred from Georgia Perimeter College after spending his freshman year at Mercer. Twelve starts, 80 innings, 24 walks, 61 strikeouts. Likes music. Turned 21 early this season.

No. 25: Joseph Estrada, high school outfielder from Puerto Rico. Switch-hitter. Turns 19 before next season.

No. 26: Rob Huber, senior RHP from Duke. From Plano, Texas. Six feet flat. Closer. Was in math honor society in high school. Threw 38 1/3 innings, 37 strikeouts, 18 walks. I repeat: math honor society. Turns 23 before next season.

No. 27: J.P. Sportman, senior outfielder from Central Connecticut. Winnnnner. I mean, come on. J.P. Sportman. Hit .337/.396/.497. Appears to believe that Dylan Moore is gay. Turns 23 before next season.

No. 28: Corey Walter, senior RHP from West Virginia. Became a reliever mid-year 2013. Threw 46 2/3 innings, 20 strikeouts, 20 walks. Split closer duties with others. The vagaries of who gets drafted are so weird to me. Turns 22 in a couple of months.

No. 29: Cody Stull, senior LHP from Belmont Abbey College. It's a Benedectine Catholic school. I think it houses a monastery or is affiliated with one. The mascot is the Crusaders. Yes. Yep. Wikipedia: "Belmont Abbey has a theatre department." Stull started 13 games, 80 innings, 79 punchouts, 25 walks, and 61 earned runs. He gave up 125 hits in 80 innings. The team as a whole had a 5.90 ERA. College is amazing. Turns 23 before next season.

No. 30: Derek Beasley, senior LHP from USC Aiken. That's the Aiken campus of the University of South Carolina. Not USC. Roberto Hernandez, the former White Sox relief pitcher, went there. That's a pretty good alumnus. Apparently is such a beloved meteorologist that citizens were "distraught" and "in utter shock and despair" when he left for a new job. Wait, hold on, that link appears to be some kind of joke. The Internet is weird. Fifteen starts, 94 innings, 75 strikeouts, 35 walks. He's from Harlem. That's in Georgia. Turns 23 before next season.

No. 31: Tyler Schimpf, high school RHP from Sacramento. Committed to Texas. Is 6'6" and 220 and has been clocked at 90 mph by Perfect Game. Likes god a lot. Kinda figure he's not going to sign. Turns 19 later this season.

No. 32: Denz'l Chapman, high school outfielder at Junipero Serra, I think in Gardena. Balls-out fast, apparently, and committed to San Diego State. Very good bowler. Turns 19 after this season.

No. 33: Michael Rivera, high school catcher from Florida. I don't think he's gotten his growth spurt yet. Committed to Florida. Turns 19 on my anniversary.

No. 34: John Nogowski, junior first baseman from Florida State. Hit .307/.431/.443. Teammates with Jose Brizuela (no. 16) in case you already forgot (I did). Signed for $100,000. Turns 22 before next season.

No. 35: Austen Swift, high school outfielder from Canada. Can apparently hit it 450-plus feet. Committed to Blinn College, a JC halfway between Houston and Austin. In Texas. One of 16 Canadians taken in the draft. Turns 19 later this season.

No. 36: Tyler Spoon, junior outfielder from Arkansas. Spooooooon. Batted .256/.350/.363. Has interesting ideas about shirt collars. Turns 22 after this season.

No. 37: Brock Lundquist, high school outfielder from Fountain Valley, which is near Huntington Beach and Garden Grove and stuff. He's not from Sweden. Probably. His Maxpreps page says "Brock has uncommitted to Oakland Athletics baseball," so I don't think he's signing. No college commitment listed on Perfect Game, but his Twitter says Long Beach State. Seems more excited by the fact that he can say "Hey cool I got drafted," so I'd guess maybe not signing? Turns 19 before next season.

No. 38: Colt Atwood, junior outfielder from Sam Houston State. Finally a Colt. Batted .306/.339/.358, which is a pretty good line in MLB. Turned 21 earlier this season.

No. 39: Payton Squier, high school second baseman (!) from Phoenix. Bats lefty, though. A's love these lefty infielders. Committed to UNLV. Has also "uncommitted to Oakland Athletics" so I feel like this is more just like a bug or something. Turns 19 after this season.

No. 40: Bryson Brigman, high school shortstop from Valley Christian in Cerritos. That's down my way, and it has a giant auto mall. Or wait maybe he's at one in San Jose. I don't know. I don't care. Has committed to San Diego, which I assume is USD, the private school, not UCSD or San Diego State. Has a private twitter account. Smart kid. Turns 19 next week.